Bmw set to deliver 50 units of its MINI E to China

BMW is gladly anticipating the high demand for electric cars in the Chinese market. In fact, it will deliver 50 units of its MINI E to China as a field trial by the end of this year, according to a Xinhua News report. In mid-2009, BMW launched a global field test that involves over 600 MINI E cars.

By next year, BMW is set to provide a further fleet to customers based on the BMW Concept ActiveE that was unveiled in January of this year.

BMW has been testing the capacity of these electric cars to be used day-to-day. The China Automotive Technology and Research Center is the main partner to prepare, implement and evaluate the use of these MINI E vehicles.

State Grid Corp of China, the leading power grid operator, is where the MINI has gone to in order to provide charging facilities and infrastructure for the project. The MINI E field trial project is under the framework of Chinese-German Forum for Economic and Technological Cooperation.

China Daily said that the results will be poured into the development of electrically powered vehicles for the Chinese market.

In 2008, BMW and Shanghai-based Tongji University started in 2008 to work jointly on the "ECHO" electric car program, as BMW's first co-research in China and the first Chinese-German project on developing all-electric vehicle.